'Anybody Can Do It' | Baltimore Senior Overcomes Obstacles On Road To Graduation
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Tempress McGhee is a soon-to-be high school graduate who, like countless others, won't get the chance to walk across the stage to get her diploma thanks to the coronavirus. Despite her senior year being cut short, she's proud of what she accomplished and the obstacles she overcame.
McGhee, a resident of northwest Baltimore's Park Heights neighborhood, acknowledges her road to graduation came with a few speed bumps.
"In the 11th grade, I got into a small altercation with a few of my friends," she recalled. "We were being bullied and they started to follow us home, and the video got out when we started fighting and we all got expelled."
After her expulsion, McGhee transferred to Renaissance Academy High School where she emerged as a leader, becoming a senior class officer and organizing charitable events including a "wear pink day" for breast cancer awareness.
"Renaissance made me happy and brung out another person in me that I didn't see in a long time," she said.
Her counselor Hallie Atwater said she's not only proud of McGhee's accomplishments but also who she's become.
"I definitely think Tempress is a very positive peer influencer at school," Atwater said.
McGhee is on track to get her diploma at the end of the school year, but like her peers nationwide her senior year was cut short.
It's a disappointing end to a successful year, Atwater said.
"Senior spring is such a joyous time for so many people to finally get the applause they deserve ... and it really does sadden me that they won't get it right now," she said.
Despite that, McGhee is looking toward her future.
"I was planning on going to MICA because I like art and I wanted to become an artist when I grow up," she said.
And she had this to say about her time in high school.
"I'm pretty sure if I can do it, anybody can do it, because I'll tell you my school years have not been pretty," she said.
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